Owner-reported complaints naming the suspension system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming suspension components — springs, struts, shocks, control arms and related hardware. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2008 Kawasaki KLR650 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 9 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
I HAVE A BROKEN PRE-LOAD ADJUSTER ON REAR SHOCK OF 2008 KAWASAKI KLR 650 MOTORCYCLE. THE OWNERS MANUAL DIRECTIONS WERE FOLLOWED EXACTLY. THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED CASE AS THERE ARE MANY SIMILAR OCCURRENCES ON THE IDENTICAL MOTORCYCLE. A RECALL MUST BE ISSUED. *TR
I TRIED TO ADJUST THE SPRING PRELOAD TO A STIFFER SETTING ON MY REAR SHOCK AND THE ADJUSTER MECHANISM FAILED AND THE SHOCK REMAINS ON THE SOFTEST SETTING, UNABLE TO BE ADJUSTED. I WANTED FOR THE FIRST TIME TO TAKE A PASSENGER FOR A RIDE AND NOW THE STIFFER SETTING REQUIRED IS NOT OBTAINABLE. RIDING THE MOTORCYCLE WITH A PASSENGER COULD BE A HAZARD AT THE CURRENT SOFTEST SETTING. I HAVE YET TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THE SITUATION, BUT IT SEEMS TO BE A VERY COMMON FAULT WITH THIS NEW MOTORCYCLE, AND I WAS HOPING FOR A RECALL ON THE SHOCK BEFORE I HAD THE CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE THE POTENTIAL PROBLEM. *TR
REAR SHOCK ADJUSTER BOLT BROKE WHEN I TRIED TO SET THE PRELOAD. COULD NOT SET THE SHOCK FOR A HEAVIER LOAD. KAWASAKI REPLACED THE SHOCK. *TR
WHILE ADJUSTING THE PRELOAD ADJUSTER ON MY REAR SHOCK ON MY 2008 KLR650 THE PRELOAD ADJUST BROKE. ALL IT DOES NOW IS SPIN AND WON'T ADJUST THE SHOCK AT ALL. I ONLY HAVE 1500 MILES ON THIS BIKE. *TR
REAR SHOCK ABSORBER PRELOAD ADJUSTER BROKEN. *TR
PRELOAD ADJUSTER ON THE REAR SHOCK OF A 2008 KAWASAKI KLR650 FAILED. PRELOAD ON REAR SHOCK WAS NOT ADJUSTABLE AND STUCK IN THE FIRST POSITION OF FIVE. ENTIRE SHOCK WAS WARRANTED AND REPLACED WITH A FUNCTIONING SHOCK BY KAWASAKI. *JB *JB
REAR SHOCK PRELOAD ADJUSTER FAILS TO ADJUST PRELOAD, THIS CAN LEAD TO DANGEROUS LOADING CONDITIONS IF USER IS UNABLE TO PROPERLY ADJUST SUSPENSION. *JB
REAR PRE-LOAD ADJUSTER ON 2008 KAWASAKI KLR650 SPINS FREELY. CANNOT ADJUST SUSPENSION TO RIDERS WEIGHT. *TR
SHOCK PRELOAD ADJUSTER ON MY 2008 KAWASAKI KLR 650 BROKE. EVERY 08 KLR I KNOW OF, THIS PART HAS FAILED. AT THIS TIME THE REPLACEMENT PARTS ARE FAILING JUST AS FAST. KAWASAKI SO FAR IS REPLACEING THE PARTS UNDER WARENTY, HOW EVER THEY HAVENT UPGRADED THE THE PART TO PREVENT FAILER, YET. I HOPE THIS IS THE CORRECT ACTION TO INITIATE A RECALL.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .